“In officially nominating Obama, Democrats also continued to make their case that Republicans had veered far to the right, and that the president was the best candidate to protect the middle class,” write Bernie Becker and Jonathan Easley at The Hill.

CFR’s Elliott Abrams writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that while a controversial vote to add Jerusalem language back to the platform is better than an outright refusal to do so, the flap may stir new worries about U.S foreign policy.

“Every Democratic platform since 1992 has included language about Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Its initial removal this year follows refusals by the White House and State Department to acknowledge that Jerusalem is the Jewish state’s capital. This seems more like a policy change than mere inadvertence,” Abrams writes.

CFR’s Shannon K. O’Neil looks at the differences between the Democratic and Republican platforms on issues ranging from security, economics, and immigration to the U.S. relationship with Latin America.

“While the political climate, current events, and likely congressional gridlock will constrain the next administration’s policies regardless of party, the platforms provide a sense of where the parties’ cores would like to move the country. With respect to foreign policy toward Latin America (as well as domestic policy toward the region’s descendants), overall the Democrats are more focused on the opportunities that the region provides, rather than its potential threats,” O’Neil says.

President Obama’s national security and foreign policy successes have rebranded Democrats as foreign policy leaders, neutralized the Republican Party’s traditional political advantage on national security, and improved the United States’ standing in the world, writes the Progressive Policy Institute’s Will Marshall at Foreign Policy.

– Gayle S. Putrich, Contributing Editor

Opinions expressed on CFR blogs are solely those of the author or commenter, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions.

About This Blog

The Candidates and the World provides a timely guide to the national security and foreign policy dimensions of the 2012 presidential transition. It offers insight on the top issues, and gauges global reaction to the election's results.